Tantra vision

In many religious traditions and cults, kama, sexual desire, has been condemned. Sanyasis and nuns are required to take vows of celibacy, brahmacharya, to join ashrams and monasteries. The conflict between religious ideal of celibacy and opposing force of libido can cause great mental agony and guilt in a seeker's life, sometimes leading to psychological disorders and self-inflicted violence.

Sexual desire, however, is not inherently lustful; it is a natural human impulse. Lust involves sexual violence. For those who cannot control their baser instincts through iccha-shakti (willpower), tantra offers a different perspective. Tantra, rather than condemning sexual energy, considers it a life-creating sacred energy and seeks to understand and sublimate it.

In Hinduism, Shivling, a symbol of life, is phallic. Erotic sculptures on temples at Khajuraho and Konarak stand testimony to the fact that Indic culture accepts sex as a natural process of life. Tantra offers various techniques for transmuting and sublimating primal energy into ojas, vital essence. The techniques involve choiceless witnessing of the rise, peak and fall of carnal desire, along with special asans, mudras, pranayams and visualisation techniques.

The yogi who transmutes sexual energy is traditionally referred to as an urdhavaretas in yogic terminology. The term denotes one who redirects ojas upward from the reproductive centre for bodily rejuvenation and spiritual development.